8 THE BIG ISSUE 18 – 31 JULY 2014
“I’m comfortable saying I’m a
gay man. And I don’t want young
people to feel the same way that
I did. You can grow up, you can
be comfortable and you can
be gay.”
Ian Thorpe, Australia’s Super
Swimmer, has a quiet chat with
Michael Parkinson on TV and says
some things that are widely reported.
– Channel 10
“Trying to pretend that
universities are like private
markets is absurd. The worst-
functioning part of the US
educational market at the
tertiary level is the private for-
profit system. It is a disaster. It
excels in one area, exploiting
poor children.”
Nobel prize-winning American
economist Joseph Stiglitz, during
a visit to Australia, on the federal
government’s plan to deregulate
universities, at a time when America
is trying to re-regulate them due
to the market’s failure to open
up educational opportunities. He
also urged Australia not to follow
America’s models for (pre-Obama
Care) health and wages deregulation.
– The Age
“We wanted to make a new area
of cyberspace that contributes
to society. The psychological toll
of prison life can be markedly
improved by utilising the dead
time in cells. By giving inmates an
outlet to test their ideas and get
feedback, they are more likely to
assimilate after being released.”
Australian former prisoner Brett
Collins, on setting up what is believed
to be the first social media site for the
incarcerated: iExpress. Australian
prisons don’t allow computers or
smartphones, so prisoners map out
their profiles on paper for iExpress to
upload. Any messages on their page
are printed out and sent back to the
prisoner. Visit iexpress.org.au for
more information.
– Vice (US)
“I think many of them were
trying to shock themselves out
of boredom. It’s just a sign
of how difficult [being alone
with one’s thoughts] can be for
people... This is not something
that most people find really
enjoyable.”
Timothy Wilson, a psychologist at
the University of Virginia, on his
study that found many people
“Oh oh oh, another thing that
makes no sense is when Dad and
Roy [Scheider] find the boat with
the dead fisherman at night, and
in the scariest moment of the
film the dead body pops out and
freaks Dad out. Why would the
shark kill the fisherman and not
eat him? He is not a murderer.
He’s a man-eater. He would have
eaten that body.”
Emily Dreyfuss, daughter of Oscar-
winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, on
rewatching her dad’s famous film,
Jaws (now 39 years old), and finding
some things in it a bit flaky.
– Mother Jones (US)
IT’S UNBELIEVABLE WHAT WE HAVE
ACHIEVED. WHETHER WE HAVE THE BEST
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER DOESN’T MATTER AT
ALL, YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE THE BEST
TEAM... WE IMPROVED THROUGHOUT
THE TOURNAMENT AND DIDN’T GET
DOWN WHEN THINGS DIDN’T ALWAYS
GO OUR WAY. WE JUST STUCK TO OUR
PATH AND AT THE END WE’RE STANDING
HERE AS WORLD CHAMPIONS. IT’S AN
UNBELIEVABLE FEELING.
Philipp Lahm, captain of Germany’s football team, reflects on his side’s
1-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup final in Brazil. And you
know what? Neither Germany nor Argentina beat the Socceroos.
– The Australian
HEARSAY
WRITER RICHARD CASTLES » CARTOONIST ANDREW WELDON
PHOTOGRAPHBYCLIVEROSE/GETTYIMAGES;CARTOONBYANDREWWELDON
“Oh, sorry. Thanks!”
A customer turns back to thank
the automated supermarket self-
service checkout for her change,
after momentarily forgetting her
manners. Overheard by Gillian
of Curtin, ACT.
EAR2GROUND